play

Less common meanings

17. 17
    pretendverbintransitive

    To pretend to be in a certain state or to have a certain quality, as in playing dead or playing dumb.

    She likes to play helpless.

    He played dead until the bear left.

    UsageFollowed by an adjective, not an adverb: play dumb, play innocent, play hard to get.

    Similaract, feign, fake

    Note

    The complement names a pose the speaker does not believe: someone who plays dumb is, the point goes, not dumb at all. Play coy, play hard to get and Walter Scott's "play the rational" of 1819 all work the same way. What separates it from playing fair or dirty is falseness: there the adjective describes how someone really behaves. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 1 fact

    • The phrase "play the rational" occurs in Walter Scott's writing. en.wikisource.org
18. 18
    verbintransitive

    To gamble, staking money on the outcome of a game.

    If you're going to play in Las Vegas, decide ahead of time how much you can afford to lose.

    She never plays for high stakes, preferring a friendly game where nobody loses more than twenty dollars.

    UsageAdd for money or for high stakes when the setting is unclear.

    Similargamble, bet, wager

    Note

    The bare verb, with no game named, could mean gambling: in Charlotte Smith's Celestina of 1791 a man insists "I play, comparatively, very little," setting it beside drinking as a vice he keeps in check. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • Charlotte Smith wrote Celestina, first published in 1791. writersinspire.org
    • A male character says 'I play, comparatively, very little,' using play to mean gambling without naming a game. en.wiktionary.org
    • The character compares his gambling with his drinking and presents himself as restrained. en.wiktionary.org
19. 19
    start buttonnouncountable

    A button that starts recorded media when pressed.

    Play is the triangle, pause the two bars.

    She pressed play and the room went quiet.

    UsageUsed with no the: press play, hit play.

    Oppositepause, stop

    Note

    It is the verb of playing a recording turned into a name, and it sits beside pause and stop on the panel, which behave the same way.

20. 20
    business movenouncountable

    A move or maneuver, as part of a plan or strategy, by which a business, an investor, or a political party tries to get ahead.

    The takeover was a play for the firm's patents.

    Investors look for plays on rising rates.

    UsageUsually make a play for a goal or in a market: the firm made a play for its rival.

    Similarmove, bid, gambit, maneuver, bet

    Note

    The game's countable move carried off the field: a company makes a play in a market, a party has a long-term play for reform. It borrows a move within a game and keeps that sense of a calculated step taken against rivals.

21. 21
    go downverbintransitive

    To be received or taken in a particular way by an audience or others.

    Jokes like that don't play in a courtroom.

    The announcement played badly with the staff.

    UsageOften used with well or badly. Use with for an audience and in for a place: play well with voters.

    Similargo (entry), land, fly

    Note

    The verb is about reception, and it needs a manner: a policy plays well, a joke plays badly, or someone asks how a thing will play. It belongs to talk about politics and publicity, where how a decision lands matters as much as the decision itself.

22. 22
    noununcountable

    Freedom or room to move, especially the amount a part of a mechanism can move loosely.

    Allow a little play in the schedule.

    Her ideas were given full play in the new job.

    UsageUseful patterns: give full play to your imagination; too much play in the steering.

    Similarslack, give, leeway, latitude, scope

    Note

    It turns up most naturally after give: give play to your imagination, give full play to an idea, meaning room to range without restraint. The same notion becomes measurable in machinery, where the slack in a moving part can be checked and measured. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 1 fact

    • Mechanical play is measurable clearance or slack between moving parts. product.minebeamitsumi.com
23. 23
    sexual activitynouncolloquialuncountable

    Sexual activity, or the sexual acting out of roles or fantasies.

    Rules and consent come before any play of that kind.

    The workshop stressed that any kind of play between partners should begin with an honest talk about consent and limits.

    Note

    Mostly heard with a modifier in front that names the scenario: fantasy play, BDSM play, pet play, and the compound play life.

24. 24
    sound (instrument)verbtransitive or intransitive

    Of a musical instrument, to produce music, especially in a stated way or condition.

    The organ plays beautifully in a cold church.

    Some violins play sweetly and some do not.

    Similarsound, sing, perform

    Note

    The instrument becomes the subject, and the verb nearly always arrives with a verdict: this piano plays out of tune, a guitar plays well on fretted strings but not on open ones. It is how a repairer or player talks about an instrument's condition, unlike the musician's sense, where a person does the playing.

25. 25
    nouncountable

    A single time a piece of media, such as a video or a song, is watched, listened to or broadcast.

    The podcast's first episode passed a million plays within a week.

    The streaming service counts a play only after thirty seconds of listening.

    Similarview, listen

    Note

    The counting unit of streaming services: a video racks up ten thousand plays, an artist amasses 860 million plays in a year, as Ed Sheeran did on Spotify in 2014. View and listen name the same thing for video and for audio; play covers both. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • Ed Sheeran amassed 860 million plays on Spotify in 2014. en.wikipedia.org
26. 26
    nouncountable

    An instance of wordplay: a clever or humorous twist on a word, phrase, or name.

    The headline was a sly play on an old proverb about early birds.

    The comedian's set was full of plays on the names of local towns.

    UsageUsually followed by on: a play on words, a play on her name.

    Similarpun, twist

27. 27
    verbtransitive

    To handle or deal with something in a calculating way, aiming to make a profit or gain an advantage.

    Experienced traders play the currency markets by watching for small swings in rates.

    The landlord played the housing shortage for all it was worth, raising the rent with every new lease.

    UsageUsually the before the object: play the markets, play the system.

    Similarexploit, work

    Note

    A trader's and gambler's verb, usually with the before its object: play the markets, play the percentages. It suggests skill and calculation rather than luck.

28. 28
    verbtransitive

    To bring something into action or carry it out, such as a card, a shot in a game, a trick, or one's part.

    She saved her highest trump until the last round and played it to win the hand.

    Everyone on the project has to play their part if we want to finish on time.

    UsageSet phrases: play your part, play a trick on someone, play your cards right.

    Similardo, use

29. 29
    verbcolloquialintransitive

    To kid or joke, saying something for amusement, or to act or treat something in a way that is not serious.

    "Calm down, man, I was only playing."

    "My grandmother does not play when it comes to Sunday dinner."

    UsageI'm just playing means I'm only joking; she doesn't play means she is serious about it.

    Similarjoke, kid, fool

    Note

    A use associated with African American Vernacular English. Source

    Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • The sense of “play” meaning to kid, joke, or act unseriously is associated with African American Vernacular English. en.wiktionary.org
30. 30
    verbtransitive or intransitive

    To take a particular role or position in a sport or on a team.

    After the injury, the coach asked her to play shortstop for the rest of the year.

    He has played up front for most of his career but now drops back into midfield.

    UsagePosition names usually take no article: she plays shortstop, he plays in goal.

31. 31
    verbtransitive or intransitive

    To sweep over or fall on something, or to aim or work something, such as a beam or a jet of water, so that it does.

    The guards play a searchlight over the yard every few minutes.

    Flashlight beams played over the walls of the cave as the hikers searched for the exit.

    Similarsweep, pass

    Note

    The verb works both ways, and a preposition marks where the movement lands. Intransitively, light or water is the subject and simply plays over, on or around something; transitively, a person aims it: firefighters play a jet of water onto a fire, and an army could play cannon upon a fortification. Addison's Cato has the setting sun playing on shining arms, the gentle, shimmering end of the range. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

    • Joseph Addison wrote Cato. gutenberg.ca
    • Cato describes the setting sun playing on shining arms. gutenberg.ca
32. 32
    noununcountable

    The movement of a pattern of light, shadow, or something similar as it shifts and changes.

    The painter was fascinated by the play of light and shadow on the cathedral's stone front.

    A restless play of firelight on the ceiling kept her awake long after the others were asleep.

    UsageCommonly followed by of: the play of light on water or a play of light and shadow.

    Similarinterplay, flicker

    Note

    A noun that lives in one frame: the play of something, with an of-phrase naming what shifts, as light and shadow do across a face. The frame stretches to unseen forces too; Nyanatiloka's Fundamentals of Buddhism denies that a person is "the mere play of blind chance". Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • Nyanatiloka wrote Fundamentals of Buddhism. accesstoinsight.org
    • The work denies that a person is "the mere play of blind chance", using those exact words. accesstoinsight.org
33. 33
    verb

    Of one side's score, to stand against the score of the other side in a result.
34. 34
    verb

    To fight or spar with weapons, whether in practice or in earnest, as in fencing or jousting.
35. 35
    verb

    To stage or act out a drama before an audience.
36. 36
    verb

    To move lightly or briskly, as leaves do in a breeze or sunlight does on water.
37. 37
    verb

    To move back and forth in turn, as a piston or other alternating part does.
38. 38
    verb

    To let a hooked fish tire itself out on the line before reeling it in.
39. 39
    verb

    To engage in sexual or romantic activity with someone.
40. 40
    noun

    Lively, playful behavior in young animals that helps them get to know the world around them and develop abilities.
41. 41
    noun

    A move made by a player whose turn it is, as in a card or board game.
42. 42
    noun

    In oil and gas exploration, a rock formation or area thought to hold a body of oil, gas or other resources.
43. 43
    nounarchaic

    Fighting or combat with weapons, or the skill shown in it, as in swordplay.